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"The High Bridge"

Just wondering if there are any plans already in place to convert the HighBridge (the railroad bridge over the Chippewa River connecting an area nearCascades tissue to the west bank) to a pedestrian/bike bridge as has been donein several other places in Eau Claire. I had planned to take some photos offthe High Bridge last week and it has been blocked with fencing to keep peopleoff which tells me that it is now defunct as a RR bridge. Seems like it wouldbe a great addition to the bike trails we already have here.Sharon

The high bridge is slated for conversion to a bike trail. I'm going from memoryhere, but I believe the railroad announced plans to abandon it. This was aproblem for Xcel which bought it to preserve utility lines currently on thebridge. They then donated it to the city. I hope I have all that correct.

> I'm going from memory here, but> I believe the railroad announced plans to abandon it. This> was a problem for Xcel which bought it to preserve utility> lines currently on the bridge. They then donated it to the> city. I hope I have all that correct.

The old Omaha Road's High Bridge will be refurbished to allow for safepedestrian and bike use in 2012. Public Works will be working this winter onthe plans and how to access the bridge from 1st street on the west side, andForest Street on the east. This bridge will only make our trail system evengreater!

I checked with Brian Amundson last night and he reports that the High Bridgeproject is very much on track. It is still in design as the recent easementfrom Excel has added some benefit to the design. Construction is scheduled forthis summer and will begin later in the season.

This is so exciting! The North River Fronts Riverbank is going to be rockingafter the biketrail winds through the garden area and the new garden pavilionis built. That high bridge redevelopment is going to bring a lot of people intothis area of town. Can't wait! Eau Claire is great~~

I just caught a the local news and they had a small piece about this projectpossibly being completed in 2015. Exciting! While crossing the Madison Stbridge as a pedestrian I've often glanced north at this bridge and hoped itcould be a better alternative, one not so close to vehicle traffic.